Secularism

Secularism is the belief in separation of government and laws from religion. Secularization is the movement away from traditional religious values, and the movement first occurred from within Catholicism during the 16th century as the Renaissance and Reformation promoted ideas of humanism and individualism. Secularism became the main belief in Western countries, with religion being taken out of the legal system and government to ensure that all people were treated as equals under the law. President of India Jawaharlal Nehru said that secularism was implemented to protect each person's practice of religion, while others associate it with atheism. Secularism is mostly found in the West and the Americas, while many countries in the Middle East and Africa are ruled by Muslim sharia law.